Hi, can someone please tell me what mark I would get for my unfamiliar texts practice (this is the second one I have posted on here) and give me some advice on how to improve it. Thanks.
Exam paper: https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/ncea-resource/exams/2015/90851-exm-2015.pdf
Resource booklet: http://level1.edutronic.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2017/08/NCEA-Level-1-English-Unfamiliar-Texts-Resource-Booklet-2015.pdf
Question one: Fiction
One language feature the writer uses to describe the text is an adjective. An example of this in the text is when the writer states: “The looming presence of the house was exaggerated by the great sun behind its turrets and chimneys.”
This language feature helps us to understand the writer’s feelings about the setting by describing the setting in great detail through the writer’s eyes. For example, the writer states: “The looming presence of the house was exaggerated by the great sun behind its turrets and chimneys.” The adjective, “looming” tells the reader that the writer finds the setting to be intimidating. The adjectives in this text also help the reader to understand what the conditions have been in the setting recently. An example of this is when the writer states: “Rotten autumn leaves gathered on the ground in damp clumps”. The fact that the leaves are rotten, tells us that they have fallen a long time ago and have not been picked up. This tells us that the house in the setting has not been cared for for a long time and implies that no one has lived in it for a while.
The writer’s experience of the setting has changed. Before her grandfather’s death, the setting was usually filled with action as shown by the writer’s statement: “I had been coming here most of my life and my arrival was always accompanied by movement and sound: Grandpa waving, one of the dogs wriggling its hips and coming over to sniff and bark hello, always at least one chicken out of its coop, scratching and nudging the earth with a crowing rooster not far behind.” However, after her grandfather’s death, when the setting is no longer filled with action, she finds it to be eerie, as shown by the writer’s statement: “The bustle always diverted me from what I felt now - a slight panic, a creeping awareness of the places on the farm that I had managed to avoid for twenty years staring at my back, willing me to turn and face them.” This setting is sustained throughout the text with the use of language features such as personification, which can be seen when the writer talks about the places on the farm willing her to turn and face them. The message that the writer is trying to convey in this text is that action can often distract people from what they often find discomforting.
Question two: Poetry
One language feature that the writer uses to describe the dog in this text is an adjective. An example of this language feature from the text is when the writer states: “But I like Boy, the silly bugger, especially since he’s not mine.”
This language feature helps us to understand the writer’s attitude towards the dog. The previous statement shows how the writer thinks that the dog is silly, but likeable as it is used in an affectionate way. The writer also uses this language feature in a different sentence at the start of the text when they state: “There’s a reason why my neighbour’s always calling out to Boy, her wibbly-wobbly young black lab”. This shows that the dog is clumsy and energetic in a humorous way.
The writer helps us to understand different attitudes towards the dog throughout the text by writing about different people that the dog may affect. Firstly, the writer talks about his neighbours attitude towards the dog, stating while referring to the reason that his neighbour is always calling the dogs name: “and the reason is you can’t trust a dog you can’t see.” This shows that the neighbour is worried about their dog’s behaviour. This is also shown later in the text when the writer states: “my neighbours worried: she’s scared he will make a habit of it and might get shot by the local farmers”. The writer also shows his attitude towards the dog, using the adjective “wibbly-wobbly” to show that he thinks the dog is clumsy and also using the adjective “silly” to show that he also thinks the dog is immature. He also writes “I like Boy” showing that despite the dog’s shortcomings, he still likes him. The writer presents different attitudes towards the dog throughout the text to give the reader a detailed, unbiased perspective towards the dog.
Question three: Non-fiction
One language feature that the writer does to describe gardening is contrast. This can be seen in the text when the writer states: “The plant that spontaneously goes to seed is the perfect metaphor for the gardening experience.”
This language feature helps us to understand the process of gardening by contrasting two things that can not be controlled. Showing the reader that in gardening, sometimes things do not go to plan and that there is nothing that can be done about it.
The writer’s experience of gardening throughout the text shows many positive and negative aspects of gardening. A positive aspect of gardening that the writer mentions is the fact that gardening shows us how lucky we are to have people to grow vegetables for us. This is shown when the writer states: “But growing something of your own will make you realise how thankful we should be that there are experts to do it for us.” A negative aspect of gardening that the writer mentions is the amount of time that one has to wait for something to finish growing. This is shown when the writer states: “In an age where consumerism means you don’t have to leave your bed to order almost anything in the world, reading on a packet of seeds that the expected time to maturity is 120 days is almost incomprehensible. In this statement, the writer makes use of the adjective; “incomprehensible”, to show how inconvenient gardening can be. The writer’s overall feelings towards gardening are although it can be flawed, it is an enjoyable experience that can teach many lessons about the value of patience and how we should be grateful for what we’ve got, which is the overall message that the writer is trying to convey in this text.
